Fig dry fruit is predominantly made by allowing fresh figs to dry out naturally, concentrating their sugars and developing their characteristic chewy texture. This process often occurs while the figs are still attached to the fig tree.
As figs ripen, their moisture content decreases significantly, especially in warm, sunny climates. The natural sugars within the fruit become more concentrated, which acts as a preservative and gives dried figs their intense sweetness.
Harvesting Naturally Dried Figs
For figs that are dried naturally on the tree, harvesting methods are adapted to collect the fruit once it has dried sufficiently.
- Early Season Harvest: According to observations in fields like those in California, large fans are sometimes employed early in the season to expedite the harvest of naturally dried figs.
- Large 10 to 12-foot fans are brought into the field.
- These fans are used to blow the figs off of the trees. The force of the air detaches the dried fruit, causing it to fall to the ground where it can be collected.
- Late Season Harvest: As the season progresses, the process simplifies.
- The dried figs will drop to the ground on their own once they have reached the optimal dryness and maturity.
- Farmers then gather the figs that have naturally fallen beneath the trees.
These collected, naturally dried figs are the fig dry fruit that is then typically cleaned, sorted, and packaged for sale. While some commercial methods might involve supplemental drying in controlled environments, a significant portion of dried fig production relies on this natural sun-drying process, either on the tree or immediately after the fruit drops.
This method not only requires less energy compared to artificial drying but also allows the figs to develop rich, complex flavors as they dry slowly in the sun.
